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School News: September 2013

BAKER

ELEMENTARY

Our Baker family was greatly saddened by the loss of a precious fourth grade member. Cameran Gates had been battling cancer for the past six months. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family. He will be greatly missed by all of us here at Baker.

Uncle Bob Duncan came for a visit with Emily Bone’s pre-K class. He brought his friend Roosevelt (a dog puppet) along with him. Roosevelt and Uncle Bob talked to the children about feelings and being a good friend. He showed them how to draw happy, sad and mad faces. He also talked about how to make your friends feel happy when they are sad.

Our PTO is off to a great start and having their second meeting Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria. The PTO is currently having the annual PTO Membership Drive. The membership fee is $5 per family. We look forward to having more parents than ever involved and active in our Baker community.

Barry Letson began practicing with the cross country team after school. The team will compete in two meets on Sept. 25 and Oct. 2. These will be hosted on the Baker campus at 4 p.m.. We would like to welcome all the students and families from all over the county to our campus for these meets.

Our school motto is B-Behaving, A-Achieving, K-Kind, E-Enthusiastic and R- Responsible. Each month we are discussing these characteristics of a Baker school student and how we can better represent ourselves and our motto. This month we are focusing on achieving. We want all of our Baker students to achieve at their highest potential.

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

This summer, two Columbia High students traveled to Anaheim, Calif., for the Future Business Leaders of America national conference. As a junior, Chassi Owen, president of FBLA at Central, qualified to attend the conference by placing first in Hospitality Management on the state level. Also attending were local chapter secretary, Summer Reese and her mother Christy Reese; FBLA advisor from CHS, René Harvey; and Chassi’s mother Heather Duncan. They attended sessions that offered inspirational speakers, leadership training and student competitions. A favorite activity was networking through trading state pins. The Tennessee state pin this year, a guitar, proved to be one of the most popular of the conference.

“I have always loved being a part of our local chapter, but going to nationals helped me realize how much potential our chapter has and all that we can achieve,” Owen said.

FBLA offers students opportunities to develop potential as business and community leaders as they build confidence, social skills and organizational abilities.

Columbia Central Band began its competitive season with a championship win at the West Creek Sound Invitational in Clarksville on Sept. 7. The band earned a Superior rating for its outstanding performance and won first place in its class for the captions of Music, Visual, General Effect, Color Guard and Field Commander. The Central High School Band took home the Grand Champion award for highest overall score of all bands in competition.

The Columbia Central conjoined chapters of National Beta Club and National Honor Society have selected their slate of officers to serve as leaders for both chapters. Officers for the 2013-14 school year are Nick Laffey and Vy Nguyen, co-presidents; Caitlyn Turner, historian; Katherine Harlan, secretary of communications; Seth Butler, service hours coordinator; Sara James and Mary Nyhus, projects coordinators; Austin Chatman, recording secretary; and Caleb Legg, public relations. Both clubs recognize academics as their main focus and also emphasize community volunteer service. Members must have a 93 scholastic average and donate at least 12 volunteer hours during the year. Thirty-five new students qualified during the recruitment and application process, giving a total of 76 members to Beta/NHS.

Their formal candlelight induction service will be at CHS at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 30.

If you are involved with a community project that needs volunteers, contact Theresa Brown or Francis Tuck at (931) 381-2222. Our students are eager to serve the community.

CULLEOKA UNIT

Kindergarten is busy learning letters and numbers. We are beginning a unit on community helpers. We are very excited about our upcoming field trip to the Culleoka Fire Station.

First grade has had an exciting start to the school year. We have been very busy jumping straight into learning. Our focus in reading and language arts has been on short vowels. In math, we have been focusing on number sense, word problems, and addition and subtraction facts.

Second grade has been studying about space. We read about astronauts, wrote stories and made constellations. All the classes have worked hard in math and are “blasting off” our facts.

Third grade is busy learning about metacognition and thinking strategies to become better readers. We are also gearing up to begin multiplication. We have adjusted well to our new classrooms and love third grade. The cross country team is practicing hard to prepare for our meets at the end of the month.

The Culleoka Arrow Yearbook Club started the 2014 yearbook campaign. Business ads are for sale, and students would appreciate any support. Anyone interested in purchasing an ad to support the school should email matyskielaa@k12tn.net for more information. Also, the group is designing T-shirts for their club and hope to have them ready soon.

Spanish Club convened for the first time on Sept. 9. We elected officers as follows: president is Whitney Duke, vice president is Danielle Whittacre, secretary is Katlyn Coker and Andrew McCord is our treasurer. We discussed which kind of T-shirt to order and formed a committee to handle that. We talked about what we would like to do for this year and decided we would visit and eat at a Hispanic restaurant. We are also contemplating a trip to watch a performance by a Hispanic ballet troupe. It looks like it will be an exciting year.

Each fall, Culleoka Unit School hosts an old-fashioned harvest festival with local products, fried foods, white beans, song and dance entertainment and the best our community has to offer. On Oct. 18, visitors are welcome to take part in our annual tradition. With music and entertainment in the evening, tons of games and prizes for the kids, an auction with local arts and crafts along with donated goods from local businesses, and our traditional favorite food selection, this Harvest Festival is a must.

HAMPSHIRE UNIT

The PTO is off to an excellent start this school year. We were overwhelmed with the number of parents who joined the PTO at Open House. Hampshire parents are the best. We wish to thank the PTO board members for their enthusiasm and support this year. They provided breakfast for the kindergarten parents at the annual Boo Breakfast and lunch for the faculty at in-service. They have lots of new ideas, and their motivation is inspired by the desire to benefit the students of Hampshire School. We are grateful for their support.

The annual school carnival plans are under way. The carnival is set for Oct. 19. Lots of volunteers are needed to make this event a success. The carnival is the main fundraiser for Hampshire School. Last year, the PTO donated $7,000.00 for computer tablets and the mobile component to the tablets. We are excited to implement the “Bring Your Own Device” program again this year. Last year was the pilot program for BYOD. It was very successful, and all middle and high schools will be participating this year.

On Sept. 7, the Hampshire Cheerleaders travelled to Knoxville to participate in the second annual Spirit Day performance at Neyland Stadium. They were among more than 800 cheerleaders from across the state who performed a pre-game dance on the field before UT took on Western Kentucky.

Interact Club has started the year planning several activities in Maury County. The first Red Cross Blood Drive was held on Aug. 26. Many of the members donated blood and worked during the event. The Canned Food Drive is coming up in October, and the food will be donated to the local community churches and Harvest Share Food Pantry. Members will also be sending Valentine’s Day cards to those in nursing homes. The Interact Club is sponsored by the Morning Breakfast Rotary Club of Columbia. The Interact president is Laura Beth Whiteside, vice-president is Zach Hickman and serving as secretary is Justice Grooms. Interact is looking forward to an exciting and productive year.

College Day for seniors is coming up at Columbia State Community College. Seniors from all over the county will travel to CSCC on Oct. 17 to talk to representatives from various colleges and universities across the state. A career and technical fair will be offered later in the year.

The Hampshire School Carnival is set for Oct. 19 from 4-7:00 p.m. The auction will follow. Contact the school if you have anything to donate for the auction or would like to volunteer.

Fall break begins Oct. 7.

HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY

New teachers are Linzy Boshers in first grade, and Caroline Allen is our speech teacher. Boshers graduated from MTSU in May. She is looking forward to her new journey in first grade. Allen is originally from North Alabama. She graduated from the University of Alabama in 2010 with a master’s degree in speech. She can’t wait to make a difference in the lives of Highland Park’s students. Also, Guy Dawson from Centerstone will be working with our students this school year.

August was filled with activities. Chorus students were selected Aug. 16, and the first rehearsal was held Aug. 20. Rehearsals will be every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:40-8:10 a.m. On Aug. 20, families met in the gym, where title information was presented and discussed. Families were then allowed to visit classrooms during two separate sessions. Popsicles were served on the patio at the conclusion of orientation. More than 240 attended. Parent/Teacher Conferences were Aug. 27. Teachers discussed current data information and discussed how our intervention/enrichment programs work. More than 160 attended.

Cross country began Sept. 3. Students in grades K-4 are allowed to participate. The team will practice on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Special Person Day was Sept. 6. Sausage and biscuits were served in the cafeteria, and visitors visited classrooms during literacy block. Our first PTO meeting was held on Sept. 10. The program was presented by the first grade. Sept. 23-27 is Tiger Walk Spirit Week.

The school will conduct its 14th annual Tiger Walk on Oct. 1. This event is our main fund-raiser for the year. Not only is this an opportunity for students to walk and run for fitness fun, but it will help raise funds for maintenance and upgrading our gym.

Fourth grade teachers are Pam Storey, Jennifer Throneberry, and Sondra Wilson. Fourth grade has had a great beginning to the 2013-2014 school year. Students are getting to know one another. They have such positive attitudes. They are excited about 4-H. It provides so many wonderful opportunities for students. Dill Hughes is our 4-H presenter this year.

MT. PLEASANT ELEMENTARY

Students have done a great job getting into the routines and procedures for the 2013-2014 year. Thanks to parents and students for working hard to make this happen. MPES would like to thank the Family 2 Family organization for providing backpacks filled with school supplies. This helped out so many families.

Librarian Elizabeth McDonald has set up a new website. The link is http://maurylib/ and can be a great resource for all families. She will also be starting a reading promotion for third and fourth grade. Watch for more information. Our title department along with grade levels will host a Family Math night on Sept. 24. Please plan on coming out for food and fun.

Pre-K has been learning all about colors and what happens when you mix two colors together. They also learned about how to use their words to solve problems. Tucker Turtle visited classrooms and taught the kids to tuck inside their shells and take deep breaths if they get upset. This could help all of us to deal with our conflicts.

Kindergartners have been working on numbers and colors. They used Brown Bear to help them learn about colors and sequencing. Kindergarten students were enjoying yummy M&M’s as they sorted and graphed by colors.

First graders have also been hard at work. Angie Lindsey’s and Kelly Ward’s classes worked outside doing a science experiment on matter. They were watching matter change forms by seeing ice melt. Rebecca Hughes and Shauna Cooper’s classes did a human graph of shirt colors. They found that most kids wore blue to school.

Second graders are busy little Tiger Cubs. They met their smart goal of counting by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s. Allison Kittrell’s and Rebecca Williams’ classes read informational text about the solar system. They then made posters and presented them to the class. They did an awesome job.

Third graders have planted beans, looked at plant and animal life cycles and written stories about it all. Multiplication facts are being studied and as the kids are learning those facts, they build an ice cream sundae. In reading classes, they are reading fables and folktales. We could learn a lot of great lessons from these students.

Fourth graders have studied Indian dwellings. Did you know that not all Native Americans lived in a teepee? Stop by and see the display in our fourth grade hall. These students have also been working on writing personal narratives. They are becoming some great writers as they practice all of the grammar rules they have learned over the years.

MT. PLEASANT MIDDLE

The faculty, staff and administration would like to sincerely thank all our amazing students and parents on such a wonderful and smooth start to the school year. Keep it up.

Mt. Pleasant Middle School of the Visual and Performing Arts held their first Family Literacy Night on Sept. 3. Parents attended three sessions informing them of how Title I affects their child, why study skills are important, and how common core is being implemented into the classroom. The Mt. Pleasant Grille graciously donated barbeque sandwich dinners so parents could have a relaxing evening. It was a successful night, and the school thanks all the parents who attended.

Sept. 10 was Grandparents Day at MPMSVPA. The school welcomed grandparents of current students to dine with their grandchildren during their scheduled lunch time.

Homecoming and Spirit Week was held Sept. 9-13, and the school’s Homecoming football game was Sept. 12 against Wayne County. This year’s Homecoming Court included: Caleigh Ann Chalk escorted by Daniel James (fifth grade), Arieonna Bullock escorted by Hayden Pugh (fifth grade), Graciee English escorted by Will Spears (sixth grade), Kimmy Bridges escorted by Chase Runions (sixth grade), Grace Vick escorted by Peyton Finley (seventh grade), Enriqueta Velasquez escorted by Zyshon Riley (seventh grade), Alaiha McGuire escorted by Quitairs James and Haley Ragsdale escorted by Drake Brady. The 2013-2014 Homecoming Queen crown went to Madison Smith, escorted by Brant Workman. Congratulations to all for representing your school and community so well.

Select choir students will be participating in the Middle Tennessee Vocal Association Middle School Mass Choir Festival on Sept. 26 at Christ Church in Nashville. Students will rehearse with more than 250 other middle school choirs from all over Middle Tennessee with an esteemed conductor during the day and perform at 7 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the school’s choir director.

Join Mt. Pleasant Middle School of the Visual and Performing Art’s Facebook page for the latest, up-to-date info about school events, schedule changes and other important parent and student information.

RIVERSIDE

ELEMENTARY

Virginia Sharpe, Riverside instructional coach, said that all students have filled their Just Right Bags with Just Right Books. These books are not too easy and not too hard but are just right. The children read these books every day and bring a few home each night to read.

Reading every day and night will help students become better readers. The bags are filled with fiction and non-fiction text. The teachers meet with small groups and one-on-one to guide students as they become more fluent readers. This is a part of our reading workshop that takes place daily in classrooms.

Fourth graders tasted the “fruits of their labor” by having a salsa tasting in Riverside’s Outdoor Classroom using their ripened tomatoes, basil and peppers. During the salsa tasting, students also participated in a garden scavenger hunt classifying plant varieties and locating bedding plants they planted during the spring when they were third graders. Riverside’s garden thrived with help from our summer school students and other volunteers during June and July. The fourth graders were amazed to see how the garden had grown when they returned in August and were excited to pick a ripe vegetable to take home.

Art students are focusing on artist Vincent Van Gogh as they observe the garden’s giant sunflowers to create their personal sunflower art. Riverside has just been awarded a mini-grant from the Tennessee Environmental Education Association to purchase a composter and weather monitoring tools. We are looking forward to planning a fall garden.

First Family Baptist Church began distributing food for our “Weekenders Program” for the second year. Students are given a bag of non-perishable food for the weekend.

Also, Riverside would like to thank Riverside United Methodist Church, the Highway 31 Walgreens, and Kroger for the school supplies. A big thank you to the Zion Presbyterian Church volunteers who read with our students on a weekly basis.

We had a very exciting Open House. Families visited the specialty classroom teachers to enjoy some hands-on experiences. Families enjoyed snacks in the cafeteria and selected free books to take home. Everyone enjoyed a fun-filled and informative evening.

Students and parents are invited to Family Math Night on Oct. 17. The library will be hosting our fall Book Fair that night as well. Choir auditions were held earlier this month, and practice has started. Our first Cross Country team will be competing in September and October. Book Club members will be invited to join Sherry Jackson this month to begin some great new books this semester.

SANTA FE UNIT

The Interact Club selected officers for the 2013-2014 school year. The group chose Reed Brady as president and Lucas McClanahan as vice-president. Sydney Massey will assume the secretarial position, and Thomas Hopkins will be treasurer for the club. Emily Burcham was elected the public relations director, and Evan Burcham was chosen as club committee chairperson. Brandi Ingram will serve as international understanding committee chairperson. Interact is a service and leadership club sponsored the Columbia Breakfast Rotary. Some of the officers helped park cars for the Columbia Breakfast Rotary’s Sunset Symphony on Sept. 7. The school sponsor for Interact is Denise Rogers.

The Student Council Officers and Representatives for the 2013-2014 year are as follows:

A big salute goes out to the new Safety Patrol for this school year. Fourth grade students selected to participate were Alissa Adkison, Emmy Bates, Ashley Bradley, Savannah Griggs, Nathan Myers, Hailey Potts, Kortney Rowland, Callie Sells, Colton Steward and Andy Tomlin. These students as well as the Student Council greet car riders as they arrive and make sure they arrive at their classrooms safely. The Student Council also helped out at Community Reading Night. They walked teachers’ children around to listen to stories and assisted in the library.

Wildcat Time allows teachers to meet daily with students during the last part of the day to help in small groups with those needing extra help with current assignments or subjects they are working on. It also allows the teachers to push individual students that extra bit for enrichment activities that might involve group work or computer games. Students are encouraged to join clubs in fifth grade math, sponsored by Kim Maxwell, and science club, sponsored by Holly Baker.

The Middle School Book Club will start soon. The sponsors this year are Kim Maxwell, Kristen Hood and Holly Baker. This club meets after school two days a month for an hour to discuss popular books.

Beta Club will begin activities after the first nine weeks. Sponsors of this club are Belinda Holcomb and Sharon Rhine. Students look forward to fun “get-togethers.” The honors trips will be in their second year at Santa Fe. Lee Winchester helped Principal Amy Perryman last year get it started, and we partnered with Cox Middle School when we took our reward trips to Atlanta with seventh and eighth grades and Holiday World with the fifth and sixth grades.

Start saving those box tops, pull tabs, soup labels and computer ink cartridges. Join the PTSO and help our school year by supporting all our efforts. We look forward to a great year.

SPRING HILL ELEMENTARY

Our School Wide Positive Behavior program “Back to School” assembly was very fun and informative. Lots of students participated in the dress code parade, modeling a wide variety of appropriate dress code outfits.

Daisy Wright’s students led us in a super charged-up SWPBS School Rules Chant that helped our new students learn all about our school rules. Deneen Harrison’s fourth grade band, the Recyclers, provided music for the assembly. The Recyclers had cool instruments made solely from recyclables. The students’ band instrument project was the result of combining recyclables together by using engineering principles, scientific experimentation, vivid imagination and a lot of duct tape.

Fourth graders have been learning about Native American customs and practices. All students chose Indian tribes to study and created a visual project for the student body to explore and discover what they have learned. The Native American displays on the fourth grade hallway are very impressive.

Third grade will present the first music program of the year in November. They are learning folk songs and instruments. To see what’s new in the music room at SHES, check out www.shesmusic.weebly.com.

Kindergarten students are off to a great start. They are learning to read by recognizing letters and sounds. Kindergartners are learning sight words and using them in poetry and writing. They are working on labeling pictures using letter/sounds for the items that they draw. They are also counting to answer how many, rearranging, and compare numbers. The students love using IXL Math to help reinforce math concepts in their technology specialty class.

Congratulations to the 2013-2014 Spring Hill Elementary Ambassadors. The SHES Ambassadors are role models who demonstrate leadership and service learning at school and in the surrounding community. Students were nominated by third and fourth grade teachers and had to apply for the position by completing an application at school.

They have chosen to conduct a food drive as their first service learning project this school year. Anne Holt from News Channel 2 and Second Harvest Food Bank sponsored a pep rally at the school to help them kick off their food drive. All students are very excited to be a part of this great Food Drive campaign. Classrooms with the highest number of donations will be recognized for their contributions. Spring Hill Elementary plans to donate the food to a local food pantry.

SPRING HILL MIDDLE

The school achieved Reward School status for the 2012-2013 school year. This is the second time SHMS has been named a Reward School since opening in 2010. This honor is earned by being in the top 5 percent of schools in the state. SHMS is very proud of its students and teachers for their hard work.

Basketball tryouts for Spring Hill Middle School boys will be Sept. 30 from 5-7 p.m. Tryouts for girls will be Oct. 1 from 3-5 p.m. All participants must have the appropriate physical before they are allowed to participate. For more information, contact Donnie Chambers at (931) 451-1531 ext. 7072 or dchambers@mauryk12.org.

SHMS is currently collecting canned food to be donated to The Well. About 200 cans have been collected to date. On Aug. 22, Spring Hill Middle School combined with Whitthorne Middle School for a friendly competition to see which school would donate the most canned items at the football game. Supporters of WMS contributed 66 items, while SHMS supporters brought in 33.

If you would like to contribute, bring any canned or non-perishable food item to home football and basketball games. Two cans earn $1 off at the concession stand.

The fifth grade science department spent lab time examining vertebrates and invertebrates, learning to use microscopes to study cells and carrying out an experiment using the scientific method. Students are currently engaged in completing a leaf collection and reading “My Side of the Mountain,” by Jean Craighead George as long-term assignments. Students are enjoying the activities and showing much progress on their evaluations.

Sixth grade science students have been studying the scientific method and technology. The students built pendulums and tested whether the weight or the length of the string would determine the rate of the swing. Students also tested M&M’s using the scientific method to see if the company’s slogan of “M&M’S melt in your mouth, not in your hand” was correct. The next unit of study will be physical science.

Three SHMS math teachers applied for a federally funded grant to attend the Student Engagement in Exploring Math Institute at David Lipscomb University in Nashville. Instruction was given by David Lipscomb professors, deans and special guests. Stephanie Sparks-Newland, Tangela Polk, and Sheila Anderson spent two weeks in June, along with middle school teachers from five Middle Tennessee school districts, in classes focusing on problem solving, geometry, technology in the classroom, algebra, probability and statistics. Participants received books, software programs, a smart pen, $1,000 and a new iPad.

WHITTHORNE MIDDLE

We have been in school for more than a month, and we are off to a great start with our student reporters.

Cheerleading is fun. It’s a hard sport because of the cheers that need to be remembered. Even though it’s hard work, the team is more than friends — more like sisters. — Zahrya Lucas

The Fellow of Christian Athletes is a group of students that meets on Thursdays at 7 a.m. The goal of FCA is to encourage student involvement in Christ-centered activities. Every student can be involved. — Abby McAlister

Football practice at Whitthorne is physically challenging but enjoyable. Everybody encourages one another, and we expect every player to give their best. Even though it’s just middle school football, it builds us into the men we want to be. The most important thing to remember at Whitthorne football is “Hit or be hit.” — Drew Williamson

After the new school year kickoff on Sept. 3, a group of students were trained to become this year’s leaders for Rachel’s Challenge FOR Club. In training, we talked about how Rachel has influenced our lives and about how to keep our school free of bullying and prejudice. — Bethany Knapp

Congratulations to the Whitthorne Lady Tigers Volleyball team. Varsity has a record of 5–0, and junior varsity is 3–0. Thank you, Coach Rhinehart and Coach Shepard for taking the time to work with us. We played in The Mule Town Classic tournament Sept. 6 and 7 and placed 34 in the silver bracket. — Emily Davis

The 2013 Whitthorne Tiger Girls Soccer team has two new coaches, Coach Wolf and Coach McMahon. Our team has 18 members. Our goals are working hard on and off the field and scoring a few goals. — Grace Hammond

One exciting event is Whitthorne’s Tiger Band Night. The seventh and eighth graders are performing together. Cord Martin, Brian Webster and students encourage everyone to come and hear us play. — Summer Compton

We have a great physical education program at WMS. We have great fitness tests, and our PE coaches did a great job watching for cheaters. We also learn the five components of fitness. — Autum Lancaster

All of the fifth grade students and teachers have been busy since it is the beginning of school. All of the exploratory classes have been an excellent brain booster for students. In reading classes, we are reading “Island of the Blue Dolphins.” “Box Top Wars” are in full swing on our hall. So far it’s becoming a good year. — Hannah Basnaw

The Parent Association is again having a mum sale. Fernwood Garden Center is supplying the mums for the sale. We are having a fierce competition for Box Tops. Saving Box Tops really helps the school. Finally, please mark your calendar for our Fall Festival on Nov. 2. Bring the family; there will be loads of fun.

WRIGHT

ELEMENTARY

We began our year with a “Boo Hoo” breakfast in the cafeteria hosted by our PTA. Our parents ate breakfast and said good-bye to their big kindergarteners as they started the first day of school.

The boys and girls have been working hard at recognizing all of their letters and numbers. We are also working on writing. We really have a smart bunch.

After Labor Day, we had community helpers come and meet with the kids to discuss their important jobs. Melissa Trull, a 911 dispatcher, taught the boys and girls about calling 911. Spring Hill Police Officer Beth Lovett brought her police car to show and share with the kids. We are looking forward to meeting more of our community helpers this month.

Descriptive first grader writers are eagerly inserting commonly found adjectives into their writing to describe nouns. Students are quite motivated to underline these sparkle words using glitter glue.

Engaging math stations are on going and aligned to data goals set based upon assessments that help support students to use strategic, researched based, problem-solving skills during word problems. Readers continue to learn how to apply reading strategies to develop comprehension, accuracy, fluency and vocabulary expansion.

Second grade is working hard on mastering their math facts, word problems, place value and knowing the value of a coin. In language, they are working on writing an opinion piece with an introduction and a closing statement. We are looking forward to learning about habitats and food chains this month in science.

We want to thank all of the parents and students who have been sending in box tops, soup labels and pull tabs. Keep up the good work.

Third graders have had a great start to the school year. Students learned about clouds and the weather that goes along with them. To connect to the study of clouds, students read nonfiction articles concerning storms and severe weather facts. Third graders are learning how to use this type of text to support their ideas with evidence. An introduction to multiplication has also been started in third grade. In the coming weeks, classes will begin to work on fluency with their multiplication facts. The students are looking forward to this next step.

Fourth graders have been practicing the use of quality details in their writing, answering text-based questions from reading material and working hard on mastering place value and multiplication. Life science has been exciting. We are watching the transformation of mealworms as they go through the stages of complete metamorphosis.

MWES students have been busy in art classes learning about the elements of art such as shapes, colors and lines. Third grade artists learned about Vincent Van Gogh and painted a still life inspired by his sunflower art. The first grade artists used lines, shapes and colors to make an abstract collage.

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